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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Fiona Harvey Environment editor

Labour must fulfil promise to introduce clean air act, charities urge

A wood-burning stove
Just 24 fines for wood burning were issued in England in the year to August 2025, despite thousands of complaints. Photograph: PamWalker68/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Ministers should bring forward a new clean air act that would ban wood burning, clear diesel vehicles from the roads and force councils to cut pollution, a group of more than 60 charities have urged before the king’s speech on Wednesday.

Labour held out the prospect of a clean air act while in opposition in 2023, but this was dropped from the final election manifesto, and the government has made no move to reinstate it.

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